ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline

Engineering

Lecture 20: Offshore Construction

Shawn Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Assistant Professor
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Memorial University of Newfoundland
spkenny@engr.mun.ca
Lecture 20 Objective
„ to examine methods of offshore linepipe
construction

2 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Historical Overview
„ Pipe Lay Vessel
¾ Most common method
„ Timeline
¾ World War II
¾ 1940’s and 1950’s
Gulf of Mexico
¾ Late 1960’s North Sea
„ Early performance
¾ Mechanical breakdowns
¾ Weather downtime
„ Technology Advancement
¾ Forties pipeline
• 1973-74 2 lay vessels in 2 seasons Ref: CombinedOps (2005)
• 1990 1 lay vessel 3 months

3 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Construction Envelope

4 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Pipe Lay Assessment
„ Pros
¾ Overall performance
¾ Flexibility

¾ Efficiency

¾ Limited onshore logistics/support

„ Cons
¾ Capital construction cost
¾ Expensive to mobilize

5 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Tow Methods
„ Technques
¾ Surface, near surface
¾ Controlled depth, mid-
depth
¾ Near-bottom, bottom
„ Constraints Gullane Bundle
¾ Wave/current load, Ref: Ley (2005)

fatigue
¾ Stability, flotation units
¾ Applied tension
¾ Coating systems
Bottom Pull off Singapore
Ref: Offshore Technology
6 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Tow Methods (cont.)
„ Pros
¾ Onshore fabrication
¾ Integrity qualification

¾ No practical configuration limit

„ Cons
¾ Shoreline acreage
¾ Subsea infrastructure

¾ Weather window

7 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Alternate Methods
„ Eurospiral Ref: Beaujean (2004)

8 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction Spread
Ref: Saipem

Ref: Duke Energy

9 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
S-Lay Construction
¾ Vessel Characteristics
¾ 2nd generation
• Box-hull, ship-shape (>40)
¾ 3rd generation
• Anchored semi-submersible (~4)
Ref: MMS (2001)
¾ 4th generation
• Dynamic positioning (~2)
„ Pros
¾ Shallow water installation (< 300m)
„ Cons
¾ Deeper water installation
¾ Stinger length, departure angle, wave
motion
¾ High tension, potential coating
damage, positioning

10 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
J-Lay Construction
„ Vessel Characteristics
¾ Dynamic positioning
• Semi-submersible or ship shaped (~6)
„ Pros
¾ Near vertical departure
¾ Tension at sagbend, reduced wave
motions, no stinger
¾ Precise installation
Ref: MMS (2001)
„ Cons
¾ Deeper water (> 300m)
¾ Mass distribution, vessel stability
¾ Line-up, welding, field joints (multiple
joints)

11 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Lay Vessel Positioning
„ Anchor Vessels
¾ Pros
• Simplicity, cost, and
reliability
• No complex systems
¾ Cons
• Mooring lines, anchor
handing vessels
• Anchor dragging, impact
and relocation
• Positioning (particularly
in deep water)
• Interaction with seabed
obstacles

12 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Lay Vessel Positioning (cont.)
„ Dynamic Positioning
¾ Pros
• Positioning and
maneuverability
• Water depth
independent
¾ Cons
• Complex systems
• System reliability,
redundancy
• Potential damage
following pipeline
buckling
• Fuel costs
• Underwater hazards

13 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ 2nd Generation S-Lay

Saipem Castoro 10

14 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ 2nd Generation S-Lay

Saipem Castoro 10

15 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ 2nd Generation S-Lay

Global Industries Cherokee

16 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ 3rd Generation S-Lay

Saipem Castoro 6

17 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ 3rd Generation S-Lay

Saipem Castoro 6

18 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
Ref: Allseas

„ 4th Generation S-Lay

¾ Allseas Solitaire

19 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ J-Lay

Saipem 7000

20 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ J-Lay

Saipem 7000

21 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ J-Lay

Heerema Balder

22 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ Reel Lay
¾ Timeline
• 1960’s Gulf of Mexico
¾ Pros
• Configuration
… Horizontal, vertical reel
… Rigid/flexible flowlines, pipelines, bundles, umbilicals
• Fast lay rates (1-3km/hr)
¾ Cons
• Concrete coating
• Lay vessel ⇔ wall thickness selection
• Pipeline diameter limits on spool length, logistics
… ~75km of 4” OD versus ~10km 16” OD
• Cold working

23 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Offshore Pipeline Construction
„ Reel Lay

Ref: Technip

24 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
 Offshore Pipeline Construction
CSO Apache

„ Reel Lay

Production of reeled linepipe

CSO Deep Blue

Torch Midnight Wrangler

25 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
Reading List
„ Beaujean, S. (2004). “Pipeline exposed.” World Pipelines,4(4),
pp.39-42
[2004_4(4)_World_PL_Eurospiral.pdf]

„ Brown, R.J.. (2006). “Past, present and future towing of pipelines

and risers.” OTC,Paper 18047, 6p.
[2006_OTC_Brown_Towing_PL.pdf]

„ MMS (2001). Overview of Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas

Pipelines: Installation, Potential Impacts, and Mitigation Measures.
MMS 2001-067, 16p.
[2001_MMS_GOM_PL_Installation.pdf]

„ Ley, T. (2005). “Going with the flow.” World Pipelines,5(4), pp.30-32

[2005_5(4)_World_PL_FlowLay.pdf]

26 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20
References
„ http://www.allseas.com
„ http://www.duke-energy.com
„ http://www.globalind.com
„ http://www.heerema.com
„ http://www.offshore-technology.com
„ http://www.saipem.eni.it/index.asp
„ http://www.technip-coflexip.com
„ http://www.torchinc.com/fleet.htm
„ Beaujean, S. (2004). “Pipeline exposed.” World Pipelines,4(4),
pp.39-42
„ CombinedOps (2005). http://www.combinedops.com
„ MMS (2001). Overview of Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas
Pipelines: Installation, Potential Impacts, and Mitigation Measures.
MMS 2001-067, 16p.
„ Ley, T. (2005). “Going with the flow.” World Pipelines,5(4), pp.30-32
[2005 5(4) FlowLay.pdf]

27 © 2008 S. Kenny, Ph.D., P.Eng. ENGI 8673 Subsea Pipeline Engineering – Lecture 20